Page 23 of Girl, Fractured

‘One of my guys just got done interviewing Sullivan’s neighbors,’ he said.‘Couldn’t find out much about the guy.He kept to himself, quite dramatically.’

Ripley plugged in her laptop and said, ‘Yeah, sounds like Frank.’

‘The guy who found the cat said Frank sometimes had one of his old pals over, maybe once a month.He’s not sure, but he thinks it was one of Frank’s old cop buddies.’

‘Any name?Description?’

‘No name, but he said the guy was about Frank’s age, bald, drove a blue Lexus.’

With everything set up, Ella slapped down the police report she’d found in Frank’s safe.The weight of it felt different now, outside the context of Frank’s house.She hadn’t yet dissected the thing from start to finish, but the pictures told more than words ever could.Jennifer Marlowe, a young woman from Palm Harbor – this very town – enucleated and posed like a human mannequin in her own front room.Now, Frank Sullivan had endured the same fate.

Two instances of stones-in-eyes, 48 years apart.

‘We’ll note it down.Did they find anything else?’

‘Nothing noteworthy, but I’ll give you write-ups as soon as they land on my desk.’Bauer gestured to the police report Ella had taken from Frank’s safe.She’d already given Bauer the details.‘Anything you want us to do with that thing?’

‘Would you have a copy of this report on file?’

‘Doubt it.The Pinellas Office has only been here since 2001.Before that, Palm Harbor P.D.were in charge of this town.When they closed down, all of their files were transferred to Florida State.’

‘We’ll look into hunting down the originals,’ Ella replied, though she knew the Jennifer Marlowe file in front of her was likely more complete than anything gathering dust in a state archive.She hadn’t been through the whole folder, but it looked much thicker than any police report she’d seen in her life.She doubted it was a symptom of the times.More like a symptom of Frank Sullivan’s obsession.

Bauer lingered in the doorway.His body language suggested a man who wanted to help but had exhausted his immediate resources.‘I’ll let you ladies get settled.Anything else you need, just holler.Dispatch can sort you out with the basics.’

‘Thanks, Sheriff,’ Ripley said.

‘I didn’t know Frank, but… I guess he was one of us.Badge is thicker than water sometimes.’

With that pearl of cop philosophy, Bauer disappeared into the hallway and pulled the door shut behind him.The lack of airflow quickly became apparent, and the heat engulfed Ella.She went over to the thermostat.

‘Never thought I’d need air conditioning in December.’

‘It’s a different world out here.’

Ella scrolled through the options but found nothing that suggested she could artificially cool this place down.‘Jesus, this is heating-only.’

‘Then we have no choice but to get naked.’

‘You first.’

Ripley took off her jacket, boots and pulled her pants up to her knees.

‘Oh, you were being serious.’

‘Yeah.’

‘You gonna take your socks off too?’

Ripley tied her hair back in a ponytail.‘Would that bother you?’

‘A little bit.’Ella quickly made peace with the overbearing heat.Worst case scenario she could run her head under the cold tap.‘So, where do you want to start?’

‘I’m just the consultant, Dark.Where doyouwant to start?’

Ella’s stomach grumbled, then she realized her throat was desert-dry.‘First I could use some Coke, then we need to find people who’d spoken to Frank recently.Do you remember your last conversation with him?’

Ripley threw her boots back on.‘Yup.On the phone, a few months after he retired.We promised to keep in touch, but, well…’

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